Saving Coelus
by BlueHippo317
Summary: The story of a boy named Coelus, whose dad is a madman with a box and whose mom is a sassy girl with a gun, and the story of Lily, who teaches the son of a spaceman that running sometimes takes you nowhere but farthest from the one place you really want to be.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: So I just got this idea, I'm fairly certain I know where it'll go but nothing's certain. This first chapter doesn't have much of the Doctor or nay other characters for that matter, really it's sort of just a slightly cryptic prologue of sorts, but it will become far more DW-esque shortly, I promise :)**

**Also, I don't own Doctor Who. Yet.**

Lily Opal Everheart had been staring unwaveringly at the boy for at least five minutes. She was mildly surprised that more people weren't. It would be impossible to overlook _him_.

It wasn't that he was attractive, although he was. But Lily knew it was silly for ten-year-olds to judge people on attractiveness, even though her Grandma May had forced her to watch enough terrible TV shows to know what was up. Plus, although he was a fairly nice-looking boy, he was strange too. His brown hair shimmered slightly in the light, taking on an almost silver tint, and his wide green eyes looked odd, like he always was smarter than whomever he was talking to. For all Lily knew, perhaps he was. Maybe he was some sort of child-genius. Lily had read about those people. They were always a bit strange. Still…

It didn't explain his odd behavior. He was _reading._ On the _playground._ And that was saying something, coming from Lily. She had read every single book in the school library, twice, and had spent every singlepence_(sorry, not sure if that's the smallest unit of British money or not) _that had ever come into her possession on books. However, she had enough sense to know that the playground was not the place to be reading such books.

She had received enough beatings and harsh words to understand that, at least.

Lily felt a strange sense of pity for the boy. In fact, she had begun to pity him quite a bit. Sure, playing on the playground was quite boring once you grew older, but you had to be conscious of the consequences of performing the wrong social protocol. And it was only his first day here, as far as Lily knew. Without thinking it through all that much, Lily hurried over.

She crossed the four-square courts quickly, walking briskly in the chilly air. "Excuse me," she said, stopping in front of the boy. He looked up, looking slightly dazed. Lily glanced at the book he was reading. She caught the words 'physics'. That was quite an advanced subject for someone her age, she acknowledged. She, of course, had read up on it quite a bit, however.

The boy trained his inquisitive eyes on her. "Um, yes, hello. I only meant to warn you- while I myself, am very fond of books, the playground is certainly not the place to be reading them." she said, feeling a slight sense of superiority. The poor boy. So apparently excelled in some aspects but so ignorant in others.

"I'm not quite following you." he answered in a quiet voice.

"Well obviously I am telling you to get your nose out of that book and listen, silly." she said with a smile. She could use a friend, she mused. All the girls at her school were stupid and air-headed, only caring about dolls and dresses and celebrities. And the boys were all idiots, every last one. "My name is Lily." she added sticking out her hand and sitting on the bench beside the boy. He smiled hesitantly, closing his book and shaking her hand gently, as if he wasn't sure of himself.

"I'm Coelus." he replied. Lily frowned she had heard that somewhere before.

"That's…not Latin, is it?" she asked.

His smile widened. "No, it is. Latin for space, the universe. I…" he stopped, looking suddenly terrified. "No." he muttered under his breath. Then with a quick, worried glance at Lily, he dashed off, sprinting into the woods behind the school. Lily was taken aback, too shocked to even call out his name. Frowning, she realized he had left his book behind.

And it certainly wasn't a book on physics.

**A/N: So there you go. I hope you enjoyed. I will try to update as soon as I can, although if you read my other story/collection of one-shots, you're probably slightly irked by the complete and utter lack of updates on that so, uh, yeah…*nervous laughter***

**Anyways, I'll get back to that when I can. If you want to know the truth, basically, this crazy guy just showed up in my front lawn with a blue box and was all like 'Hey, c'mon we've got planets to save, things to do' and I was like 'Gosh, I'm kinda busy trying to produce quality FanFiciton' but he just pouted until I gave in. So my schedule's been pretty full…**

**Well that was a painfully long author's note, huh? Oh wow, look it's still going. **

**Ha. I'm so hilarious. Well, reviews (whether compliments or critiques) are, and always will be, cool -Blue **


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: I hope you all enjoy this chapter. I think I will switch up the POVs, maybe do Lily, then Coelus, then the Doctor and River. Thoughts? Please review if you find the time. It makes me ridiculously happy :) **

That had been dangerous. Far too dangerous. If his father were here…no. Coelus couldn't think like that. His father wasn't here, nor was his mother. It was just as he wanted. He was finally alone.

Still, he paced like a conflicted politician across his tiny living space.

He had maneuvered his way into this abandoned old apartment though a dirty, broken window. Empty bottles and discarded cigarette butts suggested Coleus was not the first to take advantage of the space, but so far he hadn't run into any company.

Coelus soon grew too frustrated to pace mindlessly so he sighed heavily and walked over to his bed, which was simply a cheap sleeping bag with some extra blankets and a pillow. Beside where his head went was a box of granola bars, his cell phone with a dead battery, his own, sleeker and more efficient sonic screwdriver, and a small frame with his parents' picture in it. Even if he risked his life to get away from them, he still loved them.

That was the thing, though. They all loved each other so much, but his parents were always monitoring him. His mother's watchful gaze of his father's protective stares bored into him, leaving him feeling frustrated and restrained. His dad had told him every single day of his life that the skies and the planets and all of time were his, to explore and enjoy forever, yet he rarely got to see anything but the inside of the TARDIS, at least not without his parents looming behind him. He loved the TARDIS too, but his yearning for _out_ _there_ was hard to suppress. He had never been truly free until he as good as hijacked the TARDIS and piloted her anywhere, any time. Somewhere new. And when closed his eyes and leapt from the TARDIS, that rush of excitement and joy was so strong he almost couldn't bare it.

Coelus had been smiling the entire day he spent wandering around Bath, England, year 2000-and-something. He had been free. And he had almost ruined it by talking to that girl. Still, he realized as he curled up to sleep, it seemed to have been worth it. He had a strange urge to go back tomorrow and talk to her again, to get to know her. No- it was worse than that, to let her get to know him. He knew that could never happen though. He knew that if he spilled his guts about who he was, then it was over. Then he was as good as dead.

As his eyelids grew heavy and his energy slowly drained away, Coelus was overtaken by an alarming and terrible pain. It wasn't physical pain; it hurt far too much for it to be that.

The reality of his situation was crashing down upon him, squeezing his chest and stealing his breath.

He was _alone_.

His mother wasn't stroking his hair lovingly as she told him about all her adventures. His father wasn't dancing around the console acting like an idiot and making everyone smile and feel warm inside. The air wasn't pulsating with energy and soft, barely audible music as the TARDIS drifted through beautiful, awe-inspiring space.

No.

He was alone. All alone in a world of darkness and uncertainty.

Coelus was so, so alone.

And it was practically killing him.

**A/N: There will be something exciting happening soon, I promise. And the next chapter should definitely have the Doctor and River. Thanks for reading! - Blue **


	3. Chapter 3

**Yay, time for the Doctor and River!**

The Doctor roared. It was an angry, frustrated sound, but River could hear tendrils of pain and anguish breaking through the Doctor's feeble façade. He slammed his fists against the console. "She's not working!" he hollered. "_Why_ isn't she working?" he threw up his hands and stormed to his chair, in which he collapsed, shaking his head. He got up in a flash and tried numerous levers and buttons on the console that River knew would do nothing but get them into trouble. She quickly undid what he had done and placed a steady hand on his chest, even though inside she wanted to scream too.

"Calm down." She said angrily. He glanced at her, nodded stiffly and rubbed his hands together nervously.

"Coelus seemed to have…coded a virus, almost, into the coordinate setter. There is absolutely no way we can get to where he is. And it's a smart virus too. For instance, we can't just land the day before he does, or anytime after, and wait for him. It is as if, to the TARDIS, this place simply does not exist. All roads or possible ways to this place are unreachable. He's made it absolutely impossible to reach him. There is no undoing of this. It's…permanent. That boy is too smart for his own good." The Doctor for once was speaking slowly, at a rate others could actually comprehend, and he sounded uncertain. Uncertain and terribly worried.

"Reminds me of someone." River murmured. The Doctor rounded on her and looked at her as if she were crazy.

"River this is serious! He is in terrible danger and there is absolutely no way we can get to him! Why would he do that?" the Doctor sounded strange, not at all himself. He was angry, and River knew far too well that the Doctor could do stupid, extremely dangerous things when he was angry.

"Doctor." River said. She turned his face towards her and forced him to look into his eyes. She saw his last bit of resistance crumbling, saw all his defenses smashing to the ground, and he crumpled. "Does he not remind you of someone?" She said to him, softly this time.

She held out her arms and he went into them willingly, confining her in an iron cage of his spindly arms. He wasn't really even crying, just shaking and breathing in trembling gasping breaths that rattled out of his lungs and then caught in his throat.

As River leaned on him as much as he leaned on her, and tears managed to escape from her eyes and race down her cheeks, she wished that her and the Doctor were not who they were.

She wished that he wasn't an ancient man who had suffered through the loss of so many people he loved, so agonizingly many, that it was a mystery why he wasn't permanently curled up in a ball, mourning.

She wished that she was not right there alongside him, mourning with him because that was the only way they could cope.

She wished that her one, beloved son had not run away from them, running to find independence and adventure.

She wished that the Doctor hadn't done exactly the same thing, running from all he loved.

She wished that their spinning blue box was only a dream, and she that hadn't really lost anyone.

But sometimes even River Song could not get what she wished for.

**A/N: Well that was depressing. The next one won't be so doom and gloom, honestly. It won't necessarily be puppy dogs and rainbows, but it'll be something happy. If you feel so inclined, please review; it makes me ridiculously happy :) -Blue**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Sorry for the long wait. Hope you enjoy!**

When Lily dreamed, she rarely remembered the pictures her sleep conjured. And if she did, she could only grasp whispers, slight strokes of something, a place or a person, a thought or a word, but nothing substantial. Yet, on a particularly clear night, where the stars brightly twinkled in the sky and Lily fell asleep clutching a strange, old book to her chest; she dreamt an amazing, fantastical dream.

It was of magic blue boxes and stars seen up close, swirling galaxies and times far beyond her imagination. It was of a wonder-eyed boy with a knack for running, and of amazing places she could not hope to ever see in person. When Lily opened her eyes, her mind grew frustrated with herself. Why would she ruin that perfect dream, she demanded of herself. Why would she ever leave that beautiful place?

But as she slowly came back to reality and left her unruly frustration behind, real, plausible frustration replaced that. That silly boy. Running off like that, like she was some terrible monster. And she had even begun to like him, in those few moments they had been talking. There was something about his soft, intelligent tone, something about his unbridled excitement that flashed through his eyes until he masked it with cool indifference, like when she recognized his name. And then his strange departure. There was something more to it than just what she sensed. He surely hadn't just run away simply because. She had seen a flash, a flash of worry and genuine fear, a spark of terrible realization and even more terrible acceptance before he darted off.

And Lily was determined to make him explain himself.

By ten o'clock she was ready for her self-imposed mission. She had her scarf wrapped around her neck, she was wearing her favorite blue coat, and she had her bag packed. In it was a book, in case she got bored on her search, a package of cookies to entice Coelus into spilling his secrets, a tape recorder to secretly record his answers and then- she didn't know, maybe she'd somehow use them against him or, as she secretly knew she would eventually do, just play them so it wouldn't be so silent and lonely in her room when everyone in her house went out.

The final, most crucial item in her bag, however, was Coelus's book. She had poured over it all night, growing more and more upset with each page. It was such an aggravating, stupid book.

There was not a single word in it.

She examined it from cover to back and there was nothing. She was beginning to think she'd imagined the word 'physics' on the cover. Because all that filled the book were a bunch of stupid circles. Pretty? Sure. Elegant? Definitely. Interesting? To an extent. Yet surely it was a kid book, a wordless collection of pretty pictures to entertain the fickle minds of young children.

And Lily had no patience for children's books.

Lily's plan, however fallible, was simple. Return to the spot she saw Coelus at yesterday and wait about until he possibly showed up. At the time, her plan seemed foolproof to her. It was only until she arrived on the playground and saw him sitting on that same bench did she realize just how improbable the whole situation really was.

Lily was quite surprised when she found herself wanting to run to reach Coelus, who had his nose buried in another book. Today, quite similar to yesterday, he was wearing khaki pants and a white, long-sleeved, button-up shirt, tied off with a red bowtie. An utterly ridiculous bow tie. Lily was all but astounded.

She, in fact, did end up running over, coming to a stop, breathless form the run, in front of him. Thankfully, today, he was reading a perfectly normal, English textbook on Trigonometry.

"You're wearing a bow tie." She blurted. He looked up from his book slowly, his eyes, when they met hers, looking bemused slightly.

"Yes, well, bow ties are-"He began, but Lily found herself unable to hold back.

"Ridiculous. Sorry. That was rude. But it looks ridiculous." She muttered, sitting down next to him. This was all new to her, the whole 'conversation' thing. After his untimely exit yesterday were they supposed to carry on like that never happened and they were the best of friends?

"That's funny. That's what everyone seems to think. I wore it as an inside joke, of sorts." Coelus muttered sadly, wistfully almost, as he closed his book. "I have a proposition." he said suddenly, staring Lily straight in the eyes. She felt locked in place with his knowledgeable gaze upon her.

"Yesterday, I ran away." There he stated it, Lily thought, relaxing. It was no longer just hanging in the air between them like a musty coat.

"Perhaps I should not have. But the thing is, I think it will happen again." He paused, giving Lily just enough time to realize how much he spoke like a grown-up. "You see, Lily, I think I like to talk. Quite a bit, probably, when the right person is listening. However my mouth tends to run, leaving reason behind in the dust. So when reason finally catches up, because reason has a nasty habit of being quite determined, the only feasible reaction I have left is to physically run away. Because Lily, to be terribly honest, I should not be here at all. But I simply do not think I can stay away." he finished with a little smile, a hesitant offering of friendship, a vulnerable presentation of his pride.

Lily smiled in return and didn't even have to think about it. A friend? An _intelligent_ friend? A _soft-spoken, seemingly kind,_ intelligent friend? There was no way she could say no.

"I would very much like to be your friend, if you're offering." Lily ventured. Coelus nodded and Lily saw that wondrous excitement flood back into his starry eyes.

"Then I believe I have something of yours to return." Lily announced, revealing with a flourish Coelus's book of circles.

The look of immense relief and joy that invaded his face made Lily wonder what exactly she had missed among the pretty circles, and whether or not something in her life had ever made her as happy as Coelus seemed to be. As she passed over the book, she realized with a bitter-sweet twinge that she was certain nothing ever had.

**A/N: So, I guess this didn't really go anywhere in this chapter, but it'll go somewhere soon, hopefully. If you can find the time, please review. It makes me do my happy dance :)**


	5. Chapter 5

Coelus wasn't sure what it was that prompted him to returning to that bench. It just seemed…right. like going back and seeing her curious, ocean-like eyes would fill up that missing piece of his that he lost somewhere along the road of loneliness he travelled upon.

He knew from the start just expecting her to show up was preposterous, borderline idiotic, but he went anyway, with a textbook he found discarded in the bushes behind a school.

Reading was something he had taken to doing when he especially missed his parents. Which was just about all the time. His dad and mom had never forced knowledge on him, but they didn't seem surprised in the least bit when he began reading up on topics far beyond his years. That was one of the many things he missed. Whenever either of them talked to him, they spoke to him as if he were their equal. Neither of them, especially his dad, ever dumbed anything down or assumed he needed something explained.

Reasonably, Coelus's gut feeling was not the only thing that prompted him to seeing Lily again. See, Coelus had left something crucially important behind.

Even though just talking to Lily was dangerous, losing his father's Gallifreyan history book was lethal.

His father wouldn't be outwardly mad, Coelus knew for sure, but the knowledge in that book could tear the universe apart, could kill whole races instantly, could burn everything in existence to ashes. His own father had trusted him enough to place that knowledge in his hands and Coelus had foolishly left it behind. Coelus couldn't put into words how ashamed, not to mention worried, he was.

Coelus could hear Lily's footsteps as she approached him, looking exhilarated and determined. Coelus could barely believe his luck.

"You're wearing a bowtie." Lily observed. A pang of something- guilt? Loss? Loneliness? stabbed Coleus in the gut. He dragged his eyes up to meet hers. They were shining with poorly hidden wonder.

"Yes, well, bowties are-" He was about to say _cool_, something his father never stopped insisting, and something Coelus wholeheartedly agreed upon, when she interrupted.

"Ridiculous. Sorry. That was rude. But it looks ridiculous." She stuttered. It was as if this were his own mother telling that to his father, every single day. He could imagine her teasing tone, the mischievous glint in her eye that suggested she enjoyed annoying him, quite a bit. Coelus could picture his father's face, his spirited attempt at swaying her opinion. It made a ghost of a smile appear on his face. Lily sat down beside him.

"That's funny. That's what everyone seems to think. I wore it as an inside joke, of sorts." Coelus muttered, restraining himself from explaining further.

He decided it was time to address his discourteous behavior from the previous day. "I have a proposition." He began. He looked in her eyes again, to make sure she didn't look bored or upset. She didn't. And then he was off.

The words spilled out of him as he tried to organize his thoughts as he spoke. After every sentence he had to check himself. Did he say too much? Did anything he said hint at something that could reveal who he was? It was tedious work. But still, even as the words came and he delivered them, feeling exposed and worried with every one, he saw a small smile slowly growing on Lily's face. He finished, worrying that he had been too hasty and too honest, had expected too much of her reply, and yet his lips wanted to smile, smiling at the sheer whisper of a possibility that he'd have a friend.

"I would very much like to be your friend, if you're offering." Lily said. It took all Coelus had not to jump up and start dancing. To not be alone. Yes. This was what he needed. A friend. He nodded, minding to keep his vigorous excitement in check. "Then I believe I have something of yours to return." Lily said. Coelus almost didn't care, with all the joy of gaining a friend still swirling inside him.

Coelus accepted the book gingerly, training his eyes on it so that she wouldn't see his excessive joy.

This was what he needed.

Not this book, although that definitely was a plus, but no- not that. That wasn't what made him feel like happiness was oozing out of his every pore, like he could sing and fly and dance and smile brighter than all the stars in the sky. No, because what he really had just gained was something greater than this book.

A friend.

**A/N: So I lied. This one didn't go anywhere either. In fact, as you probably noticed, it was exactly the same as the last one with a different point of view. Even though it's short, I actually really like this one. I don't know. Maybe it was a little strange, but what's life without a little strange?**

**Reviews are to me what friendship is to Coelus :) -Blue**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: I really am going to try very hard to update more regularly with this. Really, I am. Sorry if I annoyed anyone by dropping off the face of the Earth for quite some time :)**

"Where are we going?" Coelus cried, practically begging. He had asked Lily literally 47- make that _48_ times, yet each and every time her smile only grew a little bit wider, and she never breathed a single hint about their destination. "Lily, please." Coelus continued.

Deep down though, he was enjoying himself. Even if it meant half an hour of seemingly mindless roaming around an unfamiliar city, being in the company of a friend was worth it. "Coelus, have you ever heard of a thing called patience? See it's this fantastic thing where-" Coelus playfully shoved her and she cut off her sarcasm, a smirk growing on her face.

"Yes, I've heard of _patience_, have you ever heard of kidnapping? Because that's what this is. Presently. You are kidnapping me." Coelus replied, greatly anticipating her response. After almost two weeks of being around her, he quickly learned that she was fantastically witty. A perplexed expression blossomed on her face, and she abruptly stopped walking.

"Kidnapping? Huh. That _is_ interesting. _Kidnapping_. Kid-napping. You know, I actually have _never_ heard of that before. Thank you, I mean…I am extremely obliged. Truly, I beseech to you my great gratitude, that you might enlighten me with such rich new vocabulary." She drawled.

Coelus had also previously noticed she loved throwing in words far beyond her practical comprehension when she wanted to make a point.

When Lily finished her spiel, she rolled her eyes and smiled daringly.

"Coelus, if this is what you call kidnapping, then by all means, put a stop to it. Walk away, escape, and be free. Liberate yourself from this terrible-" Again Coelus interrupted her, grabbing her arm and dragging her along.

"Yeah, okay, I got it, Lily. Commence with your mysterious and aggravating quest." Coelus groaned, unable to contain his grin.

They walked along in comfortable silence then, each enjoying the cool weather and sunny sky. Coelus was finally beginning to think that maybe, just maybe, everything would turn out alright. Maybe he could fully trust Lily. Maybe he could tell her just a little bit of truth about himself. Maybe he could find his way back home, and bring her along with him. Maybe, just maybe, he could fix everything and come out of it with an actual friend.

However as Coelus would soon learn, 'maybe' was a very powerful, very dangerous word.

…

"Okay stop." Lily said suddenly, looking at something with such awe it was almost reverence. Coelus followed her gaze and rested his eyes upon a great building, an architectural wonder of stone and marble. It almost appeared to be a cathedral or ancient church, with great spires and grand statues.

"Whoa." Coelus breathed. Lily nodded, smiling adoringly at the building.

"It's a library. Have you really never been here before? I think it's the most wonderful place in the world." Lily sighed.

Something uneasy shifted around inside Coelus. His father despised libraries, though he never really explained why. Still, a shiver of trepidation travelled up Coelus's spine.

"Well c'mon, then, I've got a surprise for you!" Lily encouraged, laughing. Coelus swallowed his fears and chuckled lightly, nervously, and then he allowed himself to be lead toward the building.

…

"You're gonna love this surprise." Lily gushed as they climbed up the steps to the library. As they took the stairs two at a time, Lily explained facts she had read about this library, and tried to explain its history. Coelus nodded along, genuinely interested, but said nothing. He tried to convince himself he was being silly, but he definitely was growing more perturbed as they got closer and closer to the library.

"Now remember," Lily whispered as they finally reached the doors, "we've gotta be really quiet."

Coelus nodded and held the door open for her, cool air from inside spilling out and swirling around him.

The inside was almost as great as the outside; with great domed ceilings, fancy windows, and huge shelves full of books. For a moment Coelus had to stop walking, because he was so tremendously awed by the spectacle. He'd never seen so many books all close together. Sure, the Doctor had a great deal of books, but nothing quite like this.

"Isn't it beautiful?" Lily whispered, her gaze flicking between the books and Coelus's expression. "Come on." She urged, after allowing him to gawk for a few seconds more. She tugged him along by the hand and walked quickly amid the shelves. Coelus couldn't help himself; he trailed his fingertips along the many spines of the books, wondering what each book could possibly hold within it.

"They're kind of like people, don't you think? Well, exactly like people." Lily mused as she hurried along. "They're all different. All of them carry a story- a fantastic, amazing story. But they all keep it locked up inside. Sometimes you get a peek, a little hint at what the story is, but you can never _really_ know, until you convince the book to open up." She glanced back at Coelus with a grin and poked his side.

Coelus smiled back but inside guilt started battering him violently. He so terribly wanted to let Lily in, tell her his story, but he knew he simply could not do that. All she'd ever get was a little sneak-peek, and Coelus knew that wasn't fair. But there was no other option.

Lily towed him out from between the bookshelves and over past the check-out desk, where a very old man sat. "Why, hello, Lily." he said.

"Hi, Mr. Marwin." Lily replied, stopping so abruptly Coelus stumbled and nearly fell flat on his face.

"Who's this?" The man, Mr. Marwin, asked.

"This is my best friend, Coelus." Coelus glowed with pride. He opened his mouth to greet the old man, but before he could do so Lily was off again, pulling him along.

Lily finally stopped when she reached the back of the library, where there were a bunch of small rooms with big windows looking into the library, one of which was full of big, old books.

This of course, was where Lily steered Coelus.

Once they were both inside, Lily closed the door and took a deep breath. "Okay. So. This is about that book that you had." Lily admitted. Coelus suddenly felt very, very queasy.

"What, that? It was just…I mean I just…I just found it, is all, I don't know what it is or anything." Coelus stammered.

"That's what I thought. It didn't make any sense, it was just circles. Very nice circles, don't get me wrong, but why would there even be such a book? So I did some research." Lily enthused. Coelus hoped his nervousness wasn't too obvious.

"First, I thought about what I initially assumed it was. A book on physics. So I searched through the library database and records for books concerning circles and physics. An odd search, I know, but I had to start somewhere, right?" It hurt Coelus seeing how Lily was so genuinely excited to show him this, without knowing that Coelus wasn't enjoying it one bit.

"Well, of course that got me nothing so I kept thinking. And I remembered something. When I had your book, I kept having these wonderful dreams. I was sure they were just that, dreams, but they were so…I can't even explain it. But I do remember one thing. The Doctor."

It took all Coelus had not to run from the room and never return. This was very, very bad.

"And you won't believe it, Coelus, I've found him. I've found him everywhere, all throughout history, throughout everything, he's there. He never ages, never dies." As she spoke she opened many books and pointed out points where, indeed, the Doctor was somehow mentioned.

"He's the best superhero there ever was. He can travel through time and space, and he's _magic_ and he's old and kind and he's- Coelus?" Lily trailed off as Coelus slammed a book shut angrily, shoving it across the table. "Coelus, I don't understand…" Lily sounded hurt.

"Sorry. Sorry." Coelus muttered, blushing crimson and desperately trying to come up with an excuse. "I don't, uh; I'm not feeling so well, I think. This is...brilliant, though, thank you. For doing all this. It's fantastic." Coelus spluttered. Lily looked severely confused.

"Maybe we can come back later, if I feel better, and you can explain some more." Coelus suggested, his mind reeling. What did this mean? Did she suspect anything? If so, were they now in danger?

Lily frowned and bit her lip. "No, we don't have to. It's silly anyway." Lily shrugged, a strange expression on her face.

"Wait!" Maybe we could…I don't know…maybe…" Coelus struggled to salvage the afternoon.

Had he offended Lily? Was she mad at him?

For all its perks, friendship was a whole lot of work.

Coelus studied Lily's eyes for a clue. She didn't look angry, or even upset in the slightest. She looked…intrigued. Intrigued and curious, like she was eager to explore a hunch.

"Did you know, Coelus," Lily said with a strange little smile as she moved to exit the little room, "that 'maybe' is a very promising word indeed." And with that, Lily left.

**If you can, please review. Reviews make me really happy :)**


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: I was feeling poetic today so I decided to write this. It really adds nothing to the story, so feel free to skip it and read the **_**actual**_** next chapter (chapter 8)**

There was something about that boy.

Something about the way he walked, like he was carrying not just the weight of the world, but the weight of the universe and beyond on his shoulders. He walked like a man who had to spend eternity facing death but never quite meeting it.

Something about his eyes that shone like the starry night sky. Filled with such wonder and amazement and curiosity, like he was constantly in search of something. But they were also filled with such darkness, like the pit of sadness hidden in everyone's soul, a place where no one dares venture for fear of going insane.

Something about his smile, that so rarely came Lily quickly learned to treasure it, to capture it and hold it close to her heart, so she'd always have something warm when she was feeling cold.

Something about how he talked, constantly holding back, always on edge. Never truly letting go, never releasing the things that seemed to fight within him, the things that constantly clawed their way up his throat only to be hastily shoved back down and buried.

Something about his heart, that when he actually opened up it was like the most beautiful thing in the universe, the purest of rivers, the brightest of suns, the kindest of souls.

There was something about that boy that made Lily almost mad with curiosity and even a sadness, something that made her want to take hold of his shoulders and shake him, to yell 'What are you so afraid of, you silly, magnificent boy?! Open your mouth and speak!'

There was something about that boy, and Lily was desperate to figure it out.

…

There was something about that girl.

Something about the way she talked, like she was the source of all knowledge and just wanted to share her wealth with the world. Like she was so glad to have someone willing to listen, to listen and _understand_. But she still sounded so hesitant. So sure that one of these days, every good thing she had ever had would suddenly run away and she'd be left alone in the dark with words to meet no one's ears.

Something about her eyes, big and honest and kind. Hiding nothing, offering everything for examination. There was no hint of judgment or cynicism in those eyes, no yearning to pick him apart and scrutinize him. They were open to him, willing to take in all he was and all he'd done, yet somehow still aware that this would never happen. Aware, but saddened, knowing that Coelus could never look back in those eyes and speak the truth.

Something about her laugh, that floated on the breeze like a bird, fluttering around and singing in Coelus's ear, something about how free it was, how easily it came and how difficult it was to take away.

There was something about that girl that made Coelus so terribly upset, because he couldn't show her his heart. Something that made him want to grab her hand and whisk her away, to show her all of time and space and say 'This is me! This is me, these are my stars and this is my universe for the taking, and I'm so glad I can show you who I am!"

There was something about that girl, and it made Coelus wish, wish that in return for all the stars and great beauties of the universe, he could simply just be a person.


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: From now on, I will be regularly updating every Sunday, unless I die or something. And that is a definite promise. Seriously. **

**I hope you enjoy, and reviews make me super happy!**

"And that one's called Sirius…and there's Rigil Kentarus…" Coelus whispered the names of the stars just before the presenter did, his voice awed and proud, as if these stars were his own personal masterpiece.

The great wonders of the sky soared over their heads, spinning and moving, blinking out of sight and then returning as the presentation commenced. Lily and Coelus were about the only people in the observatory auditorium, save for a wiry old man snoozing in the back and a young college student constantly scribbling notes and doodling in his notebook.

This had been location number three on Coelus's Great Adventure. Out of the blue Coelus decided he would show Lily his absolute favorite places, as Lily had shown him the library.

The first place was a seeming ordinary park, on a very specific bench.

"_Okay, why here?" Lily asked, swinging her legs back and forth as they sat together on the bench. Coelus leaned forward in anticipation. _

"_Hold on, hold on. You have to wait until…" he trailed off, a smile growing on his face. He leaned back._

"_Okay. There, see?" He asked. Lily frowned. _

"_Yes, I see a boring park. I see boring grass. Boring trees. Boring bench. Boring Coelus." Lily laughed, poking Coelus in the side._

"_That's because you're _looking_ but you're not _observing_. Don't you see it? Can't you feel it? Everything is so… alive. Don't you ever think of how amazing it is that the strangers you pass by every day, the person in the store beside you, the person driving by- they all have their own fantastic, wonderful lives? They've all got their own problems they're worrying about, their own little miracles they're waiting for, their own loved ones they're thinking about, and their own personal tragedies. _

"_Isn't it wonderful to think how your life is one of billions, that everywhere and every single second someone's life has begun or ended, has just been altered forever? I mean, can't you feel it?" By the time he was finished ranting Coelus's grin had grown exponentially, and he had become increasingly excited. Lily was silent for a moment._

"_Huh," was her response. _

_Coelus jumped out of his seat, laughing and shaking his head incredulously._

"_Huh?! That's all you have to say?! We're sitting upon a bench, a bench that so many strangers have sat upon, and lives are being lived everywhere around us! That boring tree of yours, can't you imagine how many people it's seen in all its years?" Coelus was waving his hands about, talking fast, his face alight with emotion. _

"_Well, now we know Coelus has quite the philosophical side." Lily commented, standing as well and laughing at the spectacle Coelus continued to create of himself._

"_I do understand, in a way, I suppose. Human life is an object in surplus, and yet we hold it to be of upmost importance, we grant it the highest value. It's everywhere, and no two are alike. We ourselves are the most valuable thing on the planet." Lily mused, stroking an imaginary beard. _

"_I decree this place to hereby be renamed Philosophy Bench. All who sit upon it, whoever they may be, is a philosophy in and of themselves." Coelus announced. And so it was._

It had been a surprise to Lily, but she had found that even an ordinary bench could be an amazing thing, something to be awed by. Coelus just had that affect on things, Lily decided. He simply made things literally awesome.

His second favorite place was not quite so existentially altering, but it was very Coelus.

"_Ever played chess before?" Coelus asked, briskly leading Lily to a different park, one very lacking in Philosophy Benches._

"_I've played it occasionally. I'm certainly not good at it, though." _

"_I love chess. My mother taught me how to play. She was quite good at it. She told me my dad was even better, but he rarely had the patience to finish a game, he'd simply predict how many moves it'd take to win, and he'd always be right." Coelus said, sadness seeping into his tone. _

"_So what does that have to do with chess?" Lily asked, hoping his sadness wouldn't last for very long. He smiled, and she relaxed._

"_Well. Welcome, dear Lily, to Chess Park." Coelus said grandly, gesturing in front of him. Sprawled around a little section of the park, set up on stone benches or little tables, was a metropolis of chess games, people of all ages playing rapid-fire chess. Some played themselves, spinning their boards and moving pieces faster than Lily could process what they were doing. _

_One kid nearby glanced up and grinned. "Coelus!" he crowed. Many other looked up and cheered happily._

"_Yeah, I'm pretty much a chess celebrity." Coelus muttered proudly. _

_The kid who'd first recognized Coelus returned his gaze to the game and scrutinized the board. "Checkmate in five." he announced victoriously. Groaning, the loser got up and moved to a different board._

_Coelus took his place and he and the kid quickly reset the pieces. Then, the game began._

_Lily had never seen anything like it. They moved pieces seemingly without even thinking, moving them before the opponent had barely finished moving his. A small crowd formed as they played, all watching with pleased expressions. In no time, Coelus grinned up from the board, looking slightly smug. "Sorry, Connor. Checkmate in seven." The other boy, presumably named Connor, studied the board in disbelief, and then shook his head. _

"_I'm never going to beat you, am I?"He asked regrettably, flicking over his king._

"_No, probably not. But then again, you've beaten everyone else."Coelus said encouragingly, getting up._

_Lily trailed behind him as he wandered around for the next half hour, quietly observing games and joining in when there was an empty seat. Lily and Coelus played each other a few times, though Lily knew she had no chance of victory whatsoever. Lily was content to simply watch him as, for once, he seemed distracted enough to forget whatever it was that weighed him down every single day. _

While the first two places had been wonderful, Lily was certain the observatory was her favorite. She sometimes forgot how beautiful and astonishing space truly was, and Coelus's enthusiasm only added to the greatness of it.

When the presentation was over, and the stars flickered off and the lights flickered on, Coelus stretched and sighed contentedly. "Space sure is beautiful." Lily muttered.

"Yeah, it is." Coelus replied, frowning slightly, though his face quickly returned to a bright smile.

"Hey what time is it? Because we could eat lunch and then we could…" Coelus trailed off, his face burrowed in a suspicious frown.

"What's up?" Lily asked, her smile slowly melting as she took in Coelus's rigid posture and worried expression. "Uh, Coelus? Is everything okay?" She asked, tugging on his sleeve.

Slowly, Coelus stood, still staring at something across the room. Carefully, he began gradually walking backwards, towing Lily, who grew increasingly worried, along with him.

"Lily do you see that man? Just over there?" Coelus muttered under his breath, still casually backing away.

Slowly Lily turned, her heart pounding, afraid of what she might see. At first, there seemed nothing out of the ordinary. A man, a very average man wearing a black suit leaned against the wall, his face contorted by shadows. He was staring at her, staring at _them_, with a sort of condescending smirk on his face. Besides the staring, he was a perfectly average man.

"Coelus why do you-"

"His hand. What's he holding?" Coelus hissed, prompting her to discover the danger for herself. They had almost made it out of the room.

Slowly, Lily's gaze travelled to the man's hand, as he slowly raised it. There, clenched lazily in his fingers, was a gleaming gun. Pointed straight at them.

Coelus tightened his grip on Lily, turned, and yelled, "Run!"

They shot from the room as the gun fired.


	9. Chapter 9

They ran without considering where they were going, they ran without thought. They simply ran, they feet loudly slapping the pavement, their limbs flying wildly in the air as they flew, running for their lives from a danger they didn't wholly understand.

They ran clinging onto each other, Coelus half-dragging Lily as her legs simply refused to carry her further. Out of breath himself, Coelus eventually wheezed, "Here", gesturing to a dilapidated old building, hoping desperately he had remembered to hide his belongings, for this building was his current home.

Diving through a broken window, they both tumbled into the musty building, collapsing to the cold, concrete ground, sending up clouds of dust and dirt.

For a moment they both lay there, silent, gasping for breath, before Coelus slowly sat up and leaned against the wall, rubbing his forehead in fear, confusion, and terrible realization. It took longer for Lily to recover. She'd never really liked running anyway; she found it to be a pointless sport. Finally, she had managed to mostly catch her breath, and she scooted next to Coelus, still shaking slightly in fear.

"He shot at us…a gun was actually fired _at _us. W-why…" Lily was at a loss for words.

Coelus shook his head violently and shot to his feet, pacing back and forth and shaking his head.

"This doesn't make sense." he said softly.

"Well, no, not exactly. Considering a stranger fired a gun at two innocent kids at the observatory." Lily retorted.

A flash of shame travelled across Coelus's face, but he hid it well.

"Why? Why would someone want to hurt us?" Lily asked herself, frowning in concentration.

"I don't know…does your dad work for the government?" Coelus asked weakly, still pacing religiously.

"No." Lily said quietly. It was such a somber, depressed syllable that Coelus stopped short and stared at Lily. She glanced up at him and then sighed like someone had just asked her to explain something for the tenth time.

"He's dead. So's my mom. Car accident. It's just me and my Grandma May, now. It's nothing, really, I never knew them." Lily shrugged like it was as average as chicken soup, but Coelus crumpled.

He sat next to Lily and hugged her shoulders. "I'm really sorry. And sorry for bringing it up." Coelus muttered. He wasn't so good with the touchy-feely things.

Again, Lily shrugged, and asked, "What about yours?"

Coelus bit his lip. "I, uh…I lost them too." He muttered through his teeth. This time Lily hugged him.

"Well that's just another thing we have in common." she encouraged.

"Yeah," Coelus replied, but his voice cracked like it was the most painful thing he'd ever had to say. For a moment, they both forgot about the pressing danger at hand, and simply sat in silence.

Lily was the first to get back on track. "Okay, why, then?" her voice rose in fear.

"Why did that happen?" She shivered, recalling the sudden crack of the gun, the steely calmness of the man who fired it, the terror that punched her heart as Coelus had jerked her from the room.

A strange, dark look seemed to seep into Coelus's eyes as again he stood, clenching his fists and continuing to pace.

"I don't know but I _swear,_" he suddenly seemed enraged, and it caught Lily off guard, "I swear to you, Lily, that I will find out."

…

Later that evening, Lily sat at her desk, staring out of her open window. Coelus had insisted on walking her all the way home, and had made her promise she'd stay inside and not answer the door. She found it endearing, how protective he had become, but was slightly wary of his sudden anger and assurance that he'd figure everything out. He had developed a sort of glint in his eye, like he was about to do something crazy.

Personally, Lily wasn't sure what was going on. She didn't want to believe what she knew had to be true, but was certain of what she'd seen and heard.

Firstly, just before she'd realized the man had a gun and just before they began to run, Coelus had whispered something. It came out like a breath, an agonized, miserable breath that seemed to come from deep within him. "Not her," he'd said, like he had expected this somehow.

And the other thing she was certain of- In that building, the one Coelus seemed far too familiar with, when they'd been talking. They had talked, and Lily had been vulnerable. But Lily could tell, with absolute sureness, that almost every word to come out of Coelus's mouth was a lie. His parents probably weren't dead, they did not have this in common, and somehow, _somehow,_ Coelus did know what was going on. He just apparently didn't trust Lily enough to tell her.

…

The nights were always the worst. As he lay on his thin sleeping bag on the cold, uncomfortable ground, laying his head in the little square of space where moonlight filtered in from above and absently stroking his sonic, the loneliness crept from deep within Coelus and slowly, painfully, ate away at him.

Every night it was like a sick little monster, hiding away as he ran around with Lily and then creeping back out, devouring him every single night.

The absolute silence of the place unnerved him. He couldn't even hear the sounds from outside, it was just like a thick blanket of solitude and silence suffocated him constantly.

That night was no better than the others, in fact in was worse. How cruel of a person was he, really? Because that number seemed to increase everyday he hoarded time with Lily.

Forcing her into a friendship that will never end well was one thing, but then going on to hear her admit that both her parents were dead, and then as good as lie and tell her he'd lost his as well? Just how sick was he?

Sure, he was away from them, but they were _there_. His biggest wish was for them to find him and rescue him, so surely they could figure something out eventually. If Coelus really tried, certainly one day he'd find his way back to him.

But then he would be the cruelest person on the planet, no doubt. To simply disappear, without so much as a goodbye, leaving Lily confused and alone, how was that the right thing to do?

And now, to top it all off, he had practically gotten her killed. He should've known. He should've known that allowing people in would do no good. How could he allow a sweet, kind, lovely person like Lily die because he was so selfish as to covet her companionship?

As he mentally tallied up how horrible his actions towards Lily were, tears wet his face. He had only cried once, that first night alone. After that he'd been sad, but he hadn't cried. He had tried to toughen up.

But now, they flowed freely down his face. Once they began, they were impossible to hold back. He buried his face in his pillow and sobbed, sobbed for the parents he _had _lost, sobbed for Lily, sobbed for _her_ parents, and sobbed for his pitiful little self, until his own crying became a lullaby, and he fell into a fitful sleep.

…

Unbeknownst to Coelus, a figure watched his meltdown from outside of a broken window. Emotionlessly, the figure stared down at the weeping boy, until he finally slept.

"Not long now." the figure seemed to sing in an eerie, high voice. "Not long at all, little boy."

Then, as a sudden gust of wind blew, the figure disappeared like a whimsical thought, scattered out in the wind.


	10. Chapter 10

How utterly cliché, thought Lily bitterly, as the warning of rain rumbled overhead.

Four days. It had been four days since the last time Coelus had shown his face. Lily didn't want to admit to how clingy she must've become, but her days were now filled with a dull ache as she wandered around, alone.

It was just like he had simply become a part of her life. He wasn't there one day, and then he showed up and everything got a little funner, a little brighter. He had drawn her into his little universe, and now suddenly he had left, leaving Lily like an abandoned planet, lost, lonely, and cold; a planet dying without its sun.

Had she really become that attached? She didn't want to believe it. But she knew that she had.

She was a lonely person by nature. Friends had never been a big part of her life, in fact they were nonexistent, at least until she stumbled upon Coelus.

She'd done everything. Revisited the library, and all of his favorite places. She meandered down the same paths they'd travelled upon earlier, followed where they'd walked all those days. She paused by the trees they had stopped to sit by, faltered by the patches of flowers from which Coelus had plucked one and stuck it in lily's hair, grinning at her, and she wondered about where he might live, so as to go and check.

It was like a bad breakup, though they hadn't even been in a relationship.

As the rain began to fall in tiny little droplets, Lily begrudgingly got off the Philosophy Bench she sat on and hunched her shoulders, shoving her hands in her jacket pockets. Had he just left? Or was he in trouble? She couldn't decide.

Lily hadn't even realized that she'd been walking completely alone on the path until she heard the sound that made her aware of her previous solitude, and how it was now broken. It was an odd sound, barely detectable above the wind, but certainly present. It was the sound of footsteps.

Feeling paranoid, Lily whirled around, and as she suspected no one was there. Spooked, she continued on, rolling her eyes at her own jumpiness.

However, as she continued she heard the footsteps again, and this time they were closer and quicker.

"Coelus?" Lily cried out hopefully, turning in a slow circle. She bent her head to peer around a tree. No one, of course.

Lily picked up her pace and kept her head down, practically running as the rain began to fall heavier. The footsteps did not stop.

Aware now that she was possibly in very real danger, Lily began to really run, her heart pounding at her ribcage, her arms pumping, her feet slapping the ground until-

She slammed head-on with a stranger and a strangled scream erupted from her lips. Lily broke into ridiculous karate chops and backpedaled quickly, breathing heavily.

Standing in front of her was a very disgruntled young man with his collar turned up, his hands deep in his pockets.

"Sorry, sir." Lily muttered, trying to regain her composure. She swept her hair from her face and glanced at the man, who kept his head low. There was something odd about him, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it.

"Oh, it's nothing, little girl. It's easy to be frightened when you're…alone…in the rain…" The man had a chillingly high, aloof voice and it unnerved Lily. Then he smiled- a strange sort of smile that set off alarms in Lily's brain.

"I gotta go." she muttered, hurrying past him.

"But not without," the man snagged her arm and stopped her in her tracks, turning to face her. Lily was ready to scream, to fight, to run away.

"This." The man held out a slim little wallet, _her _wallet. Huffing a sigh of relief that he wasn't about to murder her, Lily accepted the wallet and thanked him. With another unsettling smile, the man walked off leisurely. Lily hurried on in the opposite direction, jogging, but when she glanced back, the man was gone.

A sudden gust of wind buffeted her hair, making it fly around her head. Lily swore she could hear someone scream, just before the wind died down, and she sprinted all the way home.

**Sorry it's so short, but this is where things start to get interesting… :)**


	11. Chapter 11

River stared at the Doctor as he slept, lightly stroking his face.

For once, he was almost beginning to look his age- ancient. Worry and sadness had carved themselves into his skin, had cemented his mouth into a permanent scowl.

She had always known that the Doctor simply could not travel alone, that he had to have someone or else he'd grow too bitter, too cold, too depressed.

Nowadays, when he wasn't trying feverishly to find Coelus, or sitting and staring at nothing, deep in thought, he was clinging to River. At any given time he would just silently walk over and hug her, burying his face in her hair and closing his eyes.

Truthfully it helped them both. River had lost a son too, so she wasn't doing peachy either, but she had to be strong. For him. Like when Rory and Amy had been taken by the Angels, River had to be strong. But for a moment, when they hugged, River could be supported by the Doctor, rather than vice versa.

Now as she watched him sleeping, she traced the lines on his face. How could a man- who caused all of his own people to die- continually force himself into friendships and love again and again, knowing full well he'll only get hurt in the end? Why would he choose to let people in?

But then again, how could he not?

They had both loved Coelus from the start. His green eyes sparkled and were brighter than supernovas, and he smiled constantly. He would always tug on the Doctor's bowtie or River's curls and giggle, and his laughter filling the TARDIS with its beauty. They had tried so hard, so terribly hard to protect him. They told no one about him. They kept him in the TARDIS, and tagged along whenever he went out.

They understood how frustrating it must have been, how aggravating it was to be constantly protected and confined, but they didn't dare risk it. Until he was fifteen, he had to be protected as carefully as they possibly could. When he was fifteen, he'd still have protection, but he needed freedom, too.

But now he was gone.

"River," the Doctor whispered, blinking slowly as he awoke.

"Sh, go back to sleep, love." River replied absently, thinking about Coelus.

"But River…" The Doctor was fully awake now, his eyes wide open and his frown deeper. "River, what if he doesn't _want_ to come back?"

…

The Doctor could see how River suffered. She was good at trying to hide it, but the Doctor knew her, and he knew the look that had plagued her eyes since they'd woken up to find Coelus gone.

He loved her so much, for putting up with him. Even he could tell how insufferable he must've become.

The Doctor hated sleeping. Every time he closed his eyes he was terrified that he would see Coelus there, dead, as he dreamt, and he knew he could not withstand that.

But that day, when he did dream, he dreamt of something different. It was a strange, almost lucid dream. He was standing, leaning against a tree just outside of a playground. His heart jumped when he saw his son sitting there on a bench, reading the book- the history book of Gallifrey. Coelus was just reading it in public? Was that how someone had found him and taken him?

The Doctor tried to move forward, to talk to him if only in the dream, but he couldn't move. Sighing, the Doctor just stood and watched. His gaze travelled across the playground to where a girl was standing. She must've been around Coelus's age, with blonde curls and calculating gray eyes. She stood perfectly still, regarding Coelus with a slightly tilted head and an untamed wonder in her eyes.

After a while of staring at him, the girl began to walk towards Coelus. She stopped in front of him, and said something- but the Doctor couldn't hear a thing. Coelus soon replied, then the girl stuck out her hand and Coelus shook it. Who was this girl?

The Doctor struggled furiously to move at all, even just a finger, but he could not. Then suddenly the scene blurred, images swirling and spinning together like paint and water, colors and shapes changing and stretching until they formed an entirely different picture.

He saw the girl, hurrying into a house with the Gallifreyan book clutched close. Fear seized The Doctor's hearts. Who could this girl possibly be? If she had the book, than that could only mean one thing…

More pictures began to form, and the Doctor slowly began to calm from his previous panic, that this girl somehow had led to Coelus being in trouble.

The Doctor saw Coelus and the girl both returning to the bench, saw his son sporting a bowtie, saw them talking, laughing, bonding. It was not fear, now, but joy that swelled in his hearts. At least Coleus looked happy, with this odd girl from Earth. At least he wasn't in pain.

The strange picture slideshow stopped just after the Doctor caught a glimpse of Coelus showing off his impressive chess skills. While the Doctor was slightly stumped about this dream and whether if it was real- and if so, then how exactly he was watching these scenes, but for a moment he ignored all that and allowed a slight calm to wash over him.

He'd never considered that perhaps Coelus might've been prospering on his own, making a friend and enjoying himself. The Doctor almost felt jealous of this girl, but was glad more than anything else.

But then the picture dissolved into a sadder vision, one in which Coelus lay weeping on the hard ground of an abandoned building, huddled in a cheap sleeping bag, and the Doctor felt pain stab his own hearts. He wanted so terribly to reach out and envelop his son in a hug, to comfort him, to steal away whatever was saddening him so. But the Doctor simply could not.

A chill came over the Doctor as again the picture changed. Now the Doctor stared into the shadows, at the silhouette of a man slouching against a tree trunk as wind whipped around him.

The man raised a hand silently- a solemn wave, before the dream cut off sharply and the Doctor awoke.

River had finally fallen asleep beside him, but the Doctor gently shook her shoulder and woke her, jumping up.

"River, I know how to find him."

…

River didn't want to believe. She didn't want to allow herself to hope that maybe, this was possible. That once they opened the TARDIS doors, they could step out, do some simple poking around, and then have their son back. She didn't want to set herself up for horrible pain. But she couldn't help it.

Her heartbeat was incredibly fast as she clutched the Doctor's hand, standing before the TARDIS doors. "I know he's here somewhere." The Doctor whispered, reaching slowly for the door.

It had been simple, far too simple. The Doctor had simply locked onto the location of buildings and such that he'd seen in his dream and the TARDIS took them there, to Bath, England. Both River and the Doctor knew how dangerous things could be when they were too easy, but neither of them dared miss an opportunity, even a slim one, to find their lost son.

They exited the TARDIS together, looking around. They were in an alleyway beside a building that faced a park. Due to the drizzly air and slowly collecting rain clouds, the park was almost completely void of people.

The Doctor swallowed nervously and reached into his coat, pulling out a folded picture. Slowly he unfolded it and stared down at the grinning face of Coelus. _We will find you,_ the Doctor vowed,_ no matter what. We will._

"How do we know how to find him?" River asked, her hand tightly clenched around the Doctor's. The Doctor gazed across the street to the park, and then nodded.

"Do you see that girl on the bench?"The Doctor asked as he pointed. He was surprised, but it was an exact likeness. This was the girl from his dream. "She was Coelus's friend." He said, starting to walk over.

"What? How do you know?" River asked, pulling him back.

"I…saw it, in my dream. I saw Coelus and the girl, they were friends. We have to talk to her, at least." the Doctor practically begged. River, of course, complied. However unlikely it seemed, she was willing to try anything.

…

My eyes skimmed over the words of my book without absorbing any meaning. I'd already read this book twice, anyway, and it had been boring both times. But I couldn't just sit here and do nothing every day, people would think that was strange. So I'd taken to reading while I sat on our bench. It was a long shot, the fact that I thought sitting here would make him come back, but frankly I had no other friends and nothing else to do. Might as well waste time entertaining empty hopes than doing nothing at all.

My fake reading was interrupted as I realized by the sudden shade cast over me that two people were standing before me. Slowly I closed the book and looked up. It was a man and a woman, clinging to each other like if they let go they'd both just float away into space.

I could tell by their eyes and the way they hung their shoulders that something terrible had happened to them. The man looked kind of funny, with floppy brown hair and big brown eyes. I realized with a strange shock that he wore a bow tie, like Coleus had. The woman had crazily curly hair and a strong presence.

"Hello, sorry to bother you. My name is John, and this is my wife Melody. We were wondering if you've seen our son anywhere. He's been missing." The man unfolded a picture, one that had obviously been folded and unfolded many times, and I gasped. I grabbed the picture and stared at it, unbelieving.

"Yes! Yes, he's my friend. Coelus!" I stammered.

The woman began to sob.


	12. Chapter 12

The man quickly excused himself and his wife and walked her a short distance away. I watched as he said something quietly, something I could not quite make out, and she nodded, smiling slightly. She wiped away the tears like she was ashamed of them, and in seconds it appeared as if she hadn't even been crying. Keeping his arm around his wife, the man returned.

"Sorry. We just haven't seen him in a while. So you know where he is?" The man- John, I suppose, asked hopefully. I swallowed nervously. Coelus had told me that he had _lost_ his parents. Either he had lied to me, or these strangers had. I narrowed my eyes.

"What did you say your names were again?" I asked, setting my book to the side.

"He's Dr. John Smith and I'm Dr. Melody Pond." The woman said, his voice confident and strong, giving away no hint of her previous breakdown.

"You're both…doctors?"

"Yes. We're both…archaeologists." The woman said with a smile. I heard a groan of disgusts from the man and glanced at his quizzically. He cleared his throat and then smiled, though he seemed annoyed by something. The woman just grinned.

"Coelus told me he'd lost his parents." I said, frowning. Something seemed to break within both of them, visible by their suddenly miserable eyes.

"Yes…in a way…he had." Melody muttered. "We had…an argument, of sorts. We were going to…move. And Coelus didn't want to, so he ran away." Melody explained.

"I've known Coelus for almost two months, now. He's been missing for a week. How long ago did he run away?" I asked, still suspicious.

"About the same time." John said quietly.

"See, usually, wouldn't parents of a lost child call the authorities? You would think you'd have search parties, missing posters, something…how am I supposed to know you're not going to try to hurt us? You're with the man in the observatory, aren't you?" I accused, jumping up. It seemed plausible. Maybe Coelus was hiding out, and now these people were going to use me to find him and hurt him.

They both looked hurt. "The man in the observatory? What are you talking about, what happened?" He asked. I stumbled back and clutched by book to my chest, glancing around wildly for anyone who could help. No one. I had no doubt now; these people were bad.

"You know, you caused it!" I said angrily. I faltered at the pain I saw in them. Surely you couldn't fake the pain of childless parents. For a fleeting moment, I believed them. But then I remembered how someone had actually fired a gun at me. I remembered how Coelus said he was going to figure it out, and then how he disappeared.

"I will _never_ let you hurt him." I said angrily, sudden determination flowing through me. He was the only friend I had ever had, and even if he was missing I would still try to protect him.

I turned and ran, aware that they weren't following me but sprinting all the same.

…

River felt hollow. The Doctor had been right, this girl did know Coelus. Only that wasn't helping.

They sat on the bench in silence, both trying to figure out what to do next. Had Coelus told this girl about who his parents really were? If so, then it was a mistake to hide their real identities. But Coelus had always been so cautious; him just spilling the beans seemed highly unlikely.

"I know where we should go next," the Doctor said solemnly, standing and extending his hand for River to take. She did, and they walked slowly together.

"Maybe we should've followed her, tried to explain." River murmured. The Doctor shook his head.

"That would've just frightened her. I wish she'd told us what happened at the observatory. That certainly would've helped." The Doctor replied. They lapsed in a silence, with only the sound of their footsteps piercing the silence in the air.

It didn't take long for the Doctor to reach his destination- the abandoned building he'd seen Coelus sleeping in.

They slipped in through the broken window, hopping down onto the concrete floor.

Sure enough, like a little nest they found Coelus's living space, a sleeping bag and some blankets. River stared at the picture set by where his head would go, and the Doctor gingerly picked up Coelus's sonic screwdriver. Slowly, the Doctor scanned the sleeping bag and frowned.

"No one has been here in a week." The Doctor announced.

Both he and River whirled around at the sound of someone tumbling down through the window. A small figure stood and dusted themselves off, and for a fleeting moment the Doctor thought this was Coelus, until the figure stepped out of the inky shadows and turned out to be the girl who had run from them earlier.

Only now she looked winded and scared, with tears streaming profusely down her face. "Okay." she said, taking in a deep breath. "Okay, I believe you." Her voice broke as she said this, and the Doctor rushed forward just in time to catch her before she collapsed.

…

When Lily had returned home from her encounter from that strange couple, she realized immediately that something was very, very wrong. It was far too…still. Her Grandma May almost never left the living room, and she had the ceiling fan on 24/7. That, and generally a desk fan or two for good measure. The TV, as well, was always on. Always.

But not today. Today, as Lily opened the front door, she could not hear the familiar, comforting buzz of many fans. She didn't hear any voices from the TV. She heard nothing. And it was unnerving.

"Gran?" Lily called nervously, walking slowly into the house. If anything, she should've heard snoring. Her footsteps made the floor creak as she entered the living room. Her Grandma was lying on the sofa looking far too still.

"Gran?" Lily's voice shook, and she felt her stomach drop down to her toes. A strangled, high-pitched scream escaped her lips as Lily rushed to her Grandmother's side, shaking her.

"Gran, please wake up!" Lily ordered, sounding like they'd been playing a game that she'd become very dissatisfied with. "Please, Gran, please!" Lily couldn't even cry. She felt like she was about to fall through the floor, or dissolve, or throw up.

Lily kept shaking her Grandmother; trying to check for a pulse though she didn't quite know how, seeing that her Grandmother was not breathing but refusing to believe it. She was too in shock to call the police.

"Please." Lily slowly let go of her Grandmother, trembling.

"Get over it already. She'd _dead_." Lily froze, feeling like her heart stopped. That voice. That was the voice of the man who'd given her back her wallet, whose voice was high and creepy and terrifying.

Lily turned, feeling like she just wanted to go bury her head under her pillow and scream until it all went away.

"Yes. Gasp. The man from the park has killed granny dearest. How cruel. Inhumane. How do I sleep at night?" The man said sarcastically, slinking from the shadows.

His face was so strange, shifty. Like he was the man from the park…but not, at the same time. Like there were shadows permanently contorting his face, like he was always _just_ unrecognizable. He was tall and slender, dressed in a simple suit. His hair was shaggy and brown.

"Now…" the man said, curling his fingers around a gun he held, probably grinning though Lily couldn't quite tell.

"Here's the thing- I'm a very busy man. _So _busy. Naturally, little girls who can't keep their snotty little noses to themselves are kind of a bother. And yet…" the man shrugged. "You're fun. Like a little hamster running in a wheel. Hence, I won't kill you. Yet, anyway. I kill everyone, in the end. The key is deciding _when_ I'll kill you." The man had begun to wander around the room, twirling his gun around.

"Let me get to the point here." The man suddenly stopped and pointed his gun directly at Lily, and she had no trouble whatsoever believing that he _would_ shoot her.

"You're going to go running back to your pals _The Doctor and company_, and you're going to tell them that-...hmm. You know, I haven't really thought of my name yet…what about…" The man rubbed his ever-shifting chin pensively. "Let's be mysterious here. Tell them that _the Bachelor_ sends his sincerest condolences. Because if you lot don't hurry up and find your little boy blue soon, then I'm going to kill him." The man, apparently named the Bachelor, declared.

"Not with a gun though. I find guns silly. They sure do intimidate you puny little humans, at least." He hissed.

"Now go. Before I decide to save myself the trouble and kill you now. Say bye to gran-gran. And remember… if you don't hurry, I'm going to kill your little boyfriend, and then I'll be back for you." The man's tone suggested that this was all good fun, as if he were suggesting they go see a movie and then order a pizza. "Run along now."

Lily wasn't sure what to think, she only knew that somehow her legs managed to stand up and run out of there, as fast as they could go. She saw nothing but the body of her dead grandmother, the face of the Bachelor, and Coelus dying a terrible death as she ran. She could not think, she just ran.

She ran until she found them, those strange people from the park; found them hunting around for a son who was in very serious danger.

She didn't even realize that by then, she was most likely already too late.


	13. Chapter 13

It could've been a lifetime, for all Coelus knew. Only the steady beat of his hearts kept him company, and he wondered if soon even that would wither away.

He had done some calculations, and he decided that judging by the number of his heartbeats, he had been for a few days. His calculations were rough and farfetched, but he felt confident in them, for they were the only solace he had that he was not lost among impossible time.

See, when Coelus had woken up, however long ago it had been, he felt remarkably odd. He was not particularly hungry or thirsty, but there was a certain dull pang in his stomach and achy dryness of his throat that hinted that he hadn't had food or water for quite some time.

It had been-and still was- dark, terribly dark, like he was surrounded by a black cloud of ink that no light or hope could penetrate.

In those shaky few moments after waking, Coelus had determined with certainty he was no longer in his abandoned building, nor could he recall ever leaving. He did not feel injured, besides some soreness and tenderness that suggested he'd been jostled around roughly.

And as far as Coelus could tell, he was not dead, which was marginally reassuring.

He'd paced around wherever it was that he'd awoken to, and ran his hand along the rough stone wall. The room was of an average size, with sturdy walls and a solid concrete floor. The air was not too damp or too dry, and it was neither chilly nor warm. It was…terribly average.

After Coelus had explored the room to the extent of his abilities, he sat against a wall and thought for quite some time. He had no doubt this was happening because of who he was, or rather, who his parents were. Might this also in some way be connected to the shooter from the observatory? Coelus wasn't entirely sure if that made any sense, however. Why would someone try to _kill_ him back then, but capture and imprison him now? There was, of course, the chance that they hadn't meant to kill _him_, but Lily- however this thought paralyzed Coelus with fear and guilt, so he chose not to think about it.

It was really very odd, Coelus had decided. He'd expected it to be a little more exciting, when he'd had nightmares about being kidnapped. He'd pictured needles and scalpels and having surgeries done to him while he was awake, he'd pictured being poked and prodded and studied, he'd figured his DNA would be harvested, duplicated. Coelus had expected he'd be brainwashed, or at least taunted- not this, this aggravating solitude and silence. Was that the goal? To annoy him? Coelus just didn't understand. Who took the son of the last of the Timelords, just to leave him in a room and do absolutely nothing else?

Coelus had pondered that question the entire time he was confined. He knew it had to be a considerable amount of time, but he never grew hungry or thirsty, besides that ever-present ache. He never even felt tired. Coelus had decided that somehow time was not affecting him, because without food, water, or sleep he should be dead. But he wasn't. Or was he?

After a while it grew too bothersome to try to think about it. To analyze everything grew too tedious. Thinking about the people he loved was no good either. He pictured his parents, and a longing so great it hurt washed over him, leaving him feeling like he'd been split down the middle while his insides were savagely scooped out.

Thinking about Lily filled him up completely with worry and guilt. If anything happened to her it was his fault. If she was scared or hurt or, dare he think it, dead, it was because of him.

So Coelus just sat, breathing deeply, and counted his heartbeats. Felt their rhythm beat throughout him, felt it from his toes to his fingertips to his nose. He just sat and listened to the sound of the drums within him.

…

Back and forth, the Doctor paced nervously, his feet pattering like rain on the floor. Occasionally he would look up at the room, an infirmary of sorts in the TARDIS, and then go back to pacing nervously.

River sat on the edge of one of the beds that lined one wall, gently stroking the hair of the young girl lying there, unconscious.

"What could've possibly happened?" the Doctor murmured, biting his thumb nervously. River was staring down at the child protectively.

"Be patient, Doctor. We'll know once she comes to." She murmured.

"And if she doesn't?" The Doctor sounded desperate.

"She _will_."

The Doctor quit pacing and approached the girl, staring at her. This was Coelus's friend. She was the last person to see him; she might even know where he was. The Doctor needed her to wake up so urgently he felt like screaming.

"But what if-"

"Doctor." River tone, forceful and insistent, drew his full attention. The Doctor came closer, swallowing nervously as the girl's eyelids began to flutter.

…

Through what seemed like a heavy blanket of light buzzing, voices floated to Lily in fragments. A man, sounding impatient and concerned, and a woman who sounded similar but in a less obvious way. Lily's thoughts felt clouded and slow, but she could gather that they were talking about her.

Presently, Lily didn't really care. Lily tried fiercely to keep the image of her dead grandmother from her thoughts, but it fought its way to the surface determinedly. Her, and her murderer's sinister face invaded all of Lily's thoughts.

She now had no one at all. She was _alone_, and there was a psychopath trying to kill her and her best friend. Not to mention her friend's _parents_. Was it really possible, actually physically possible, for Coelus's father to be the man who's name had danced through Lily's dreams after reading Coelus' book, the man who was hidden throughout history, everywhere at every time?

If that even somehow was _not_ just a fairytale, how had Coelus not told her? Could you really be friends with someone without telling them that you're part alien? Perhaps even totally alien- or whatever it was that this 'Doctor' guy was?

But she had to rational, Lily decided. If he _did_ have a secret like that, a huge, impossible secret, then Lily shouldn't just expect him to tell everyone. It would be dangerous, probably. Maybe it could even get him killed.

She could feel her thoughts becoming clearer and clearer, but this granted her no serenity, for she knew with a sinking assurance that something was very, very amiss, and she knew there was absolutely nothing she could do about it. Not even if it was her fault. Which, she was now sure, it was.

…

Coelus was sitting peacefully, finally resigned with the fact that he may never escape this strange, timeless place. Maybe that was okay, he thought hesitantly. Maybe he _could_ live in this place of nothing if it meant his family and Lily were okay.

Of course he had no way of nothing whether they were okay or not, but he had decided to think that they were. For the sake of his sanity, they were all happy, living their lives without trouble.

And then a sudden light pierced the nothingness, and a jolt went through Coelus like his heart had been restarted. A jolt like an abrupt shot of adrenaline or caffeine, a jolt that made Coelus mildly terrified as he realized what he'd done. He had almost given up. No- he _had_ given up. There was more to this place than he thought, something more sinister he hadn't previously perceived.

He tried to gather his wits about him as the initial sliver of light grew until it was the shape of a door, shining in on the room. From what Coelus could tell, it wasn't sunlight, but cold, fluorescent artificial light.

Coelus got to his feet and stared at the source of light, a doorway; it was undeniable, right in front of him. Not set in a wall, but standing unsupported in the center of the room. Coelus regarded it warily.

"Coelus, my dear," a voice purred suddenly. Coelus was sure he had never heard the odd, sing-song voice before, and yet it felt familiar somehow. Coelus didn't move, though the outline of a hand appeared in the doorway, beckoning to him.

"Coelus, I have food." A platter of food was presented in the doorway, and instantly a wave of pain crashed down on Coelus suddenly and without warning, sending him doubling over. It was like someone had slashed his stomach to ribbons with a knife, or a tiger had clawed its way up Coelus's throat. The hunger and thirst were so great Coelus was sure he'd pass out. "That's it," the voice said quietly. The figure of a man finally appeared in the doorway, reaching out towards him. Long arms curled around him, and as much as Coelus wanted to fight them, the hunger had crippled him. He couldn't walk, much less fight back.

The arms carried him through the doorway and into the light, and it took all Coelus had not to sob.


	14. Chapter 14

"So…this is a spaceship. That travels through time. And you're an alien. And you're his wife, also part alien. And you tried…to kill him. But you didn't…so you got married instead?" Lily said slowly, raising her eyebrows. She wondered where the punch line was.

The man, who now insisted Lily call him the Doctor, and the woman, whom he referred to as River, stood before the bed she lay in, staring at her expectantly. They'd just delivered to her a totally implausible and equally impossible story, one with wonder and adventure and aliens and space and time and awesomeness. Lily, of course, struggled to believe a single word of it all.

"Yes. Sorry you had to get the condensed version, as we are on somewhat a tight schedule. Now, about my son…" The Doctor said hurriedly.

_Condensed_? None of this could possibly be happening.

_But,_ Lily scolded herself,_ you're the one who found him hidden throughout time from your research. You dreamt of these people. You were willing to believe it all when you were only half-conscious. _And there was the whole 'madman trying to kill everyone you love' thing to consider. With a pang she remembered that the criminal had already begun doing this. He'd killed her Gran and he supposedly had Coelus.

"The Bachelor." Lily blurted without thinking.

"What? That rubbish American show?" River asked, perplexed.

"No. The man…there was a man. He killed my grandma." Lily's voice caught and she fought to keep the tears contained. When she'd done what she had to do, then she could cry. "When I went home, he was in my house and he had murdered my grandma. He told me to tell you that he was called the Bachelor, and he had Coelus, and he was going to kill him." Lily talked rapidly, quietly. She watched as the faces of the couple before her went from confusion to surprise to shock to hurt to fear. Lily expected them to break down as the woman had before, or cry at least, but neither of them did so.

The Doctor crossed his arms and closed his eyes tight, and when he opened them they were cold and determined. River set her jaw and adopted a furious expression.

"Well that's it then. We find this 'Bachelor' and we kill him." River said matter-of-factly.

"River." the man protested, but the objection sounded empty, like he _should've _been opposed to such an idea, but in the circumstances he, in fact, was not.

River rolled her eyes. "Whatever. But we find Coelus."

"There's only one problem," I interrupted. They both turned their full attention to me. "How exactly do you plan on finding him?" I asked. A humorless laugh escaped River.

"Oh, you'll see." she muttered.

…

Coelus could feel himself trembling violently and he hung his head, weakly trying to fight his way out of the strong grip of his captor.

The scene before him, however ordinary, was devastating. In other circumstances, he wouldn't mind, in fact he would've been grateful for it. But right then…he just felt nauseous.

To see something he'd been yearning to see for so long now, to finally see it but know it wasn't really there, to know it was just an illusion, a trick of the light to torture him…it- well- tortured him.

It was the TARDIS interior, so accurate it was impossible, like they'd stepped from the timeless room straight into the console room. Only the TARDIS he saw wasn't happy and lively like it was supposed to be, it was broken and sad, ruined. The controls were smashed to pieces and the walls were gouged and scorched. Destruction had run rampant in the beloved room. And there, in the shadows, holding each other as they sobbed- were the silhouettes of his parents.

And then, in the time it took Coelus to blink, it was all gone, gone so fast it made Coelus gasp. Now he was surrounded by the homey interior of somebody's living room. The wooden floor was covered in expensive-looking rugs; the walls were darkly paneled and upon them hung an occasional painting of a forest or a sailboat. A grand stone fireplace was to Coelus's left, with a roaring fire with it, and beside that were two high-backed, claw-footed chairs. Beside them was a small table with a teapot, two cups, and a plate of cookies sitting upon it.

In his moment of panic and terror, Coelus had forgotten his outlandish need for food, but quickly it came back, an impossible, terrible hunger that tore through him and caused an anguished moan to escape his lips.

"What's the matter, Coelus?" The voice, the one from the doorway, dripped with malice, burning into Coelus like sizzling poison. He felt the arms that were restraining him release him, shoving him harshly towards one of the chairs, in which Coelus collapsed.

"You know, you'd be dead by now if I wasn't keeping you alive." The voice mused. Coelus still hadn't seen the man's face.

"Not to worry. You won't die of hunger. At least not yet, of course." As the man said this, a plate of food was set in Coelus's lap. Coelus barely spent time noting that it was chicken and rice before he picked up a fork and began to eat, thinking of nothing but stopping the horrible pain within him.

When all the food present was gone, and slowly the hunger ebbed away, Coelus was handed a tall glass of water, which he gulped down immediately. Only when he was completely finished did he realize that he had possibly just consumed poison.

"Now that we're all good and ready," the voice said, sounding slightly disgusted, " it's time to talk."

Finally, Coelus watched as the man whose voice he'd been hearing walked around to where Coelus could look at him.

Overall the man appeared average, dressed in a tailored black suit and shiny expensive shoes. His hands were eerily bony, his skin starkly, startlingly white. Only when Coelus's eyes reached the man's face did Coelus realize there was a problem. The man's face wasn't really a face at all. His features constantly shifted, never quite solidifying, always changing. His face, though hardly that, was a constant blur of motion, and the only thing Coelus could distinguish were a set of angry, cold dark eyes boring into him.

"What are you?" Coelus asked, unable to stop himself. The man laughed frostily.

"I am more than you ever will be, little Timelord, that's for certain." The man folded himself into the other chair, crossing one leg over the other and leaning forward slightly. "But if you insist on me having a name, your little friend and I decided on _the Bachelor_. It has a nice ring to it, don't you think?" the man purred.

Coelus's blood froze. _Little friend_? That could only be one person. "What have you done to her?" Coelus demanded, surprised at the anger in his voice. Again, the man laughed, the sound like ice shards to Coelus's ears.

"Oh-ho! The little boy is concerned for his little girlfriend! You're just children. That's _sick._" The man hissed.

"I don't know what you're talking about. And perhaps you know who I am, perhaps you don't. But I'll tell you this- if you've hurt her, you'll be sorry." Coelus said, his voice shaking slightly.

"Oh yes, the son of the Oncoming Storm and the woman meant to murder him. What a wonderful little family. I don't care for empty threats, however. You and I both know you're not warriors, any of you. You couldn't hurt me if you tried." The man taunted. "But no matter. Enough about you, you're boring. I, however, am a whole bundle of interesting."

Coelus frowned.

"Do you know what bothers me, young Coelus? In all the stories, you have the villain," the man shrugged and gestured to himself, "and the plucky little hero," the man pointed at Coelus, "having a standoff somewhat like so. The villain foolishly assumes he has won, and in a vain fit of victory, spills his entire diabolical plan to the little hero, with the intent of killing him afterwards. Then, inevitably, the hero escapes, reveals the plan, and the villain is foiled.

"I always hated them for doing that. I hated the villains. Weak, stupid cowards. I didn't like the heroes either, granted. Now here's my point. I have a plan, a wonderful plan of which I'm really quite fond of. But plans are no fun when you can't tell anyone, are they? And, little Coelus, I _want_ you to know my plan. I want you to think you will escape and tell the world, be a real little hero boy. And I don't care. You can tell every single living thing in all the galaxies and I _don't care._" The man flapped his hand in the air flippantly.

"But I need you to know my plan, so I'll tell you. I'll tell you everything, dear boy, and you will realize it won't matter what you do nor say. Because you have already lost. So listen closely."

…

Lily watched with mild amusement as the Doctor enthusiastically piloted the TARDIS, seemingly in his own world.

"Are you all right?" a gentle voice asked from beside her. Lily turned to see River standing there hesitantly.

"What? Yeah, I'm okay. Why?" Lily sputtered. River frowned slightly.

"You're crying."

Lily clapped her hand to her face and found twin streams of tears on her face. "Oh." she muttered, wiping her eyes. How distracted had she had to be to not even realize she was crying?

"Just, uh…just thinking about my grandma, I guess." Lily muttered. Understanding filled River's eyes.

"We never really gave you a chance to grieve. We just swept you up in all this mess. I'm sorry." River said, sounding sincere. Lily nodded, realized she didn't really mind. It was better to be distracted, she thought, than to dwell on it and do nothing.

"Do you…do you think you know why he- Coelus- ran away?" Lily asked, taking a deep breath. Sadness passed over River's features like a wave.

"He's too much like his father, that's why." River said with a little smile. "The Doctor ran away from home, wanting to see the universe. Coelus just wanted to be free, to go off on his own. Even if he is only ten. I can only hope it wasn't just to get away from us." She laughed lightly, though Lily could tell her heart wasn't in it.

Lily surprised herself by turning to River and hugging her tightly. After a moment of surprise, River returned the hug. And together, quietly, they cried.

…

"My father was a great man," the Bachelor, though Coelus struggled to think of him as this, said devotedly. "He had a great vision. He was determined. Smart. And he would've been successful…" The man paused to lean forward even more, getting menacingly close to Coelus.

"If it wasn't for your no-good cowardly father, that is."

Coelus swallowed nervously.

"My father could've ruled the world, if yours hadn't intervened with his vigilante protectiveness of this stupid planet." _Then we're probably on Earth,_ Coelus thought.

"My father knew that from birth I would be what he needed to finally succeed. Of course, until your father as good as killed him." An edge of bitter anger had grown on the man's tone, and Coelus was becoming increasingly frustrated. Why didn't he just tell him who he was, already?

"But I don't aim to stop, Coelus, not at all. My father's second greatest wish was to rid the world of the poison you call father. And I intend to do just that."


	15. Chapter 15

*******Read this***** : Sorry. Sorry sorry sorry. Gah. Okay. I haven't abandoned this story. But lately, what with school ending and all that educational business (cough cough finals) not to mention some family issues that have left me sort of distressed, I just haven't had the time nor the motivation, really, to continue this story. HOWEVER, sometime next month, I will be continuing this story and almost certainly/ maybe re-uploading it with a few changes so that a) the content is better in quality, b) the story generally flows better, and c) I have a clearer vision in mind of the entire story as a whole. So, again, my apologies for the irregular uploading of chapters and now this sort of hiatus. **

**So here's a teaser, I guess you could say, for the changes and continuation that shall continue sometime in June. **

A single, lone whistle pierced the stale, freezing air. It was soon followed by more whistles, unceremoniously knitting themselves into a tune, until a discernible song emerged from the disjointed croons. And that was when the chaos started.

A chorus of screams ripped through the melodic whistling, terrible broken exhales of sheer terror. The whistling only picked up, increasing in volume and ferocity. Whether it was a sole whistler or a thousand could not easily be determined, but the sound covered the landscape. The sky was heavy with dark rain clouds, though no rain fell upon the parched earth, and the air was buzzing with expectation.

A boy, his hair matted with dirt and his face streaked with fresh blood, sprinted across the field of tall grass, tearing out towards a far road in the distance. His bare feet sunk in the dirt and his arms were flapping wildly in the air, like if he tried hard enough, he could ride the wind to safety. Horror in its purest form was stamped in the boy's starry eyes, and his lungs rippled with broken screams.

Behind him, the whistling was reaching a crescendo, and the road was so agonizingly out of reach. But what's this- a new scream pierces the air. A different kind of terror, a more potent sort of panic. Not the panic for oneself, but the panic for someone else, the terrifying fear for someone else's safety. For one second, one heartbreaking second, the boy slammed to a halt, whirling around in conflicted anguish. He could turn back. He could help that screamer.

But then distress overcame him and he raced on, his heart pounding, fresh tears mixing with the blood on his face. He could hear another scream from the same person, definitely a girl. The boy wanted to be brave and good. He wanted to be a good boy who saved everyone no matter what.

The girl screamed, but this time what she was screaming could be understood. Hers was such a strange thing to scream, such an odd little phrase. Why would she be screaming 'Coelus'?

She screamed again.

And the boy wanted to go back, he so desperately wanted to, but he did not.

The boy had reached the road. And once he reached the road, there was no turning back.


End file.
